This charming old house in St-Placide, which borders Lake of Two Mountains, is called La Maison Adolphe-Basile Routhier, a name that should be as well known as that of Calixa Lavallée, but which history has more or less forgotten.

Routhier wrote the poem Ô Canada, which Lavallée put to music and which, in 1980, became our official national anthem. Thankfully, the house where he spent his youth still exists to preserve his memory. The house occupies a 1,675-square-metre lot (5,500 square feet) close to the village and is surrounded by farmland with a pine forest in the back. In the garden stands an old wood-shingled milk house, with a crooked shed on the side to store firewood.

In the garden stands an old wood-shingled milk house with a crooked shed for storing firewood.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

Built by Routhier’s father in 1841 and listed as a Heritage building since 1983 by Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communication, it is a fine example of late French colonial and early neoclassical-style architecture with thick stone firewalls. These fire-retardant walls were mandatory in urban areas, but not in a rural setting such as this one. The roof, covered in the front with what is called tôle à la Canadienne, has a gentle slope ending in a straight overhang decorated with a blue-painted wooden frieze. This roof style is a traditional technique that utilizes overlapping narrow strips of sheet metal, giving the appearance of fish scales. In the back, the more conventional batten-seam method was used.

The small shingle-clad annex on the right side of the house was added later on. It permits access to the basement and serves as a vestibule for coats, boots and such. The details in the masonry, the abundance of windows and the imposing twin chimneys are an indication that the Routhier family was well-off for the times. The 6.5-metre (9-foot) high ceilings were a rarity in those days. The interior floor plan has slightly changed over the decades; a few walls were taken down by previous owners to enlarge some rooms. Insulation was also added when the roof was redone. But the old ancestral look was preserved. So, when the current owners — Lyne Constantineau and Serge Bourgeois — bought the place in 2016, there was hardly any work to be done to make it their own. In the kitchen, they had some of the cabinets redone by an artisan and they changed all the windows, choosing a design similar to the original ones with antique-looking ironwork and latches. That was essentially the extent of the renovations carried out by the couple.

The wooden dining set was made in an old style by a cabinetmaker who used salvaged planks for the tabletop.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

The house boasts many decorative and antique design elements preserved from the past, such as wall shelves and four cupboards built into the walls. Two are found in the dining room, one above a sitting bench, the other opposite the dining table. But what really catches the eye in this large room, is the Belanger ‘Major’ stove from the mid-1900s placed in front of the old fireplace. Although it works, it cannot be used for safety reasons, one of the restrictions imposed when living in a heritage building. An old butter churn stands beside the stove.

The Belanger ‘Major’ stove from the mid-1900s really catches the eye in the large dining room.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

The red-stained wooden dining set was made by a cabinetmaker in the old-fashioned way and very much looks it. For the tabletop, he used old salvaged planks. During a recent visit, one of the seven cats in the house was relaxing on the original floorboards, which the owners believe are maple. The windows show the thickness of the stone walls, which are 76 cm (2.5 feet) thick.

The couple had some of the cabinets redone by an artisan in the long and narrow kitchen, which is fitted with a modern glass-top oven.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

The maple-wood staircase leading to the upper floor is original, though the post, handrail and balusters were replaced over the years. A telephone from a bygone era hangs above an old, weathered bookcase holding various objects from the past. The ensemble has a harmonious vintage look.

A telephone from a bygone era hangs above an old, weathered bookcase next to the maple wood staircase.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

The living room strikes the perfect balance between new and old, with modern comfortable sofas, stylish lamps, an antique grain scale converted into a coffee table and a cast iron wood stove encased in the old fireplace opening. As the neighbours are out of sight and hidden by trees, there was no need for curtains on the windows, including in the main bathroom, where ceramic tile flooring echoes the tones of the wooden door.

The main bathroom on the ground floor has ceramic-tile flooring that echoes the tones of the wooden door.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

Constantineau chose pastel colours for the furniture and just a few decor elements — vases and paintings — so that the antique elements of the room, such as the wall shelves and the encased cupboard next to the wood stove, are fully highlighted. Some people passionate about antiques tend to clutter their home with their beloved treasures, which gives the impression of living in a museum. That is definitely not the case here. Constantineau has shown great restraint in the overall decor.

Lyne Constantineau chose pastel colours for the furniture and decor elements in the living room, striking a balance between new and old.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

Age and humidity have sketched lovely patterns on the wood of the vaulted ceiling in the upstairs master bedroom. When the roof was redone and insulated, the original wide planks and beams were carefully replaced using the mortise-and-tenon technique, which has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers to join pieces of wood. The tenon, a small square or rectangle piece of wood carved at one end of a beam fits into the mortise, or slot, of another, a bit like Lego pieces. The floor, also made of the same wide pine planks, serves as the ceiling for the floor below. The queen-size bed with its ornate metal frame is covered with a quilt and throw in pastel colours that match the pillow cases. It is worth noticing that the same colours are found in the living room. The guest bedroom, also on this floor, is adorned with a leather armchair and another old butter churn. The paintings on the wall were created by Constantineau. The closet door looks almost like a painting, too, with the different coats of paint applied over the years carefully stripped to create an abstract motif of sorts.

Age and humidity have sketched lovely patterns on the wood of the vaulted ceiling in the master bedroom.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

Almost all people living in old houses will tell you the same thing, they are warm, cosy, with a ‘soul’, unlike most modern constructions.

“They were built to last by craftsmen with great skills. To live in one is, in a sense, a way to pay tribute to our ancestors,” Constantineau declares. And in this case, to remember the man Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier, whose poetry is heard or sung by the young and old almost every day somewhere in Canada.

The paintings on the wall in the guest bedroom located on the upstairs floor were created by owner Lyne Constantineau.Perry Mastrovito /
Montreal Gazette

If you would like your home considered for an article in the Montreal Gazette’s Homefront section, please contact Perry Mastrovito at pmastro@look.ca.

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